Aesthetics of Everywhere

First let me say that Busan is completely worth a trip if you’re in Korea at least a week. Stay near Haundae beach (Chan’s Guesthouse has the best possible location), spend all day at the beach and all night at the club.

And visit Spa Land in Centum City mall. It’s a nice Korean bath house and sauna (jjimjilbang) – a friend who’s been in Korea the past 10 months has said he thinks it’s the best one he’s been to. At 14,000 KRW a person (about $13 each), it’s one of the priciest because they limit your stay to 4 hours. Most jjimjilbangs have no time limit and stay open 24/7. Spa Land is only open 6am-12am.

Here there are shared outdoor areas with foot baths and paths with massaging stones, a female-only outdoor area, hot sauna rooms, an ice room, free wifi (what I’m using now), gender-segregated baths of varying temperatures from cool to scalding hot, napping areas (you have to use the wooden pillows which Koreans believe are good for your head), sun beds, paid scrubbing rooms, a restaurant, and a cafe that serves bingsoo, a Korean shaved-ice dessert. All the sauna room signs claim a range of health benefits – all your ailments would be cured if you believed what they said.

Even if you can’t get to Busan, jjimjilbangs are everywhere and it’s worth experiencing for a glimpse into Korean social life. Less upscale bathhouses are used regularly by many Koreans – Spa Land is more of a visit to experience luxury.